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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive order Wednesday night mandating that nursing homes make “all reasonable efforts” to create units dedicated to residents with the coronavirus and provide appropriate personal protective equipment to staff working in the units.

It goes on to say a facility must not create the unit unless the nursing home can implement effective infection control procedures.

The executive order is the third one aimed at long-term care facilities, including nursing homes, signed in the last two months. The new order is effective through June 17. The other two have expired.

Since the beginning of the pandemic in Michigan, thousands of nursing home residents have fallen ill from the virus and hundreds have died. The true toll in nursing homes remains unknown because of the lack of available statewide data.

The Free Press has reported the state has yet to tally how many total nursing home residents have tested positive for COVID-19 since the crisis began. The state has provided one-day snapshots showing the current number of coronavirus cases among residents at nursing facilities. That number was at more than 2,300 cases this week.

The data supplied by the state has lacked the cumulative number of residents at each facility who contracted the virus, how many residents have recovered and the number of those who have died.

State officials said last week changes are coming and additional information will be collected from nursing facilities, including the cumulative data, to align with federal reporting requirements of nursing home data.

Regional nursing homes hubs have been established to accept some positive patients from local hospitals and other nursing facilities.

Some people have been critical that COVID-19 positive residents are being transferred to facilities with other residents, who are not ill.

Lucido said he sent letters to U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider and Attorney General Dana Nessel requesting investigations be launched.

He questioned why COVID-19-positive people have been sent to nursing homes when some hospitals had room available.

“Nursing homes are not hospitals, and no one expects them to be,” Lucido said.

The most recent executive order says long-term care facilities must take screening precautions prior to a resident returning.

“A facility must not accept the return of a COVID-19-positive resident if the facility does not have a dedicated unit or regional hub meeting the requirements of this order,” it says.

The order goes on to say the determination of discharge destinations should be consistent with guidelines from the state heath department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Decision makers should consider patient safety, the safety of the residents of any destination facility, the wishes of the patient and patient’s family, and any guidance or recommendations from the local health department," the order says.

The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, also known as LARA, can take action to “assure proper level of care and services" in connection with the latest order.

“It’s critical that employees at long-term care facilities have access to the resources they need so they can properly care for our loved ones,” Whitmer said in a news release “And that COVID-19-positive residents have a safe place to recover while isolating from other residents.”